Car dealership opinions are sometimes like reading on vacation resort evaluations, some had great experiences while others are ready to bomb the place off the face of the earth...
Regretting my decision to buy BMW
- Thread starter strugglinauthor
- Start date
strugglinauthor
Member
powerontap said:
You're not wrong although in general I hear more positives about independents, so even though they don't have the cachet of the main dealers, personally I'm going to give (one of) them a try.
HR Owen in Acton are great for servicing and sorting my warranty stuff. Very straight talking and easy to deal with. But it's not worth the 100 mile trip down just to go to a dealer. I'd go and speak to a service manager of another BMW dealer and sit down and ask him if your expectations are too high, and what levels of service you can expect from them. Always a good way to start a relationship with a dealer...
Try finding another dealer, I'm sure you will find a good one. But it's sad that there are so many crappy dealers, no matter what brand.
The hydraulic lifter tick, the 23i and 30i can have a bit of lifter tick just after cold start, nothing to worry about from what I've read. Are the scratches bad? Maybe a good detailer can help you out?
The hydraulic lifter tick, the 23i and 30i can have a bit of lifter tick just after cold start, nothing to worry about from what I've read. Are the scratches bad? Maybe a good detailer can help you out?
strugglinauthor
Member
Thanks guys and I have created a separate post to try and track down a good service centre near to me.
With regards to the scratches, they're sorted now - in a manner of speaking. I'm particular about the bodywork on cars I own, which is why I go to great lengths to keep them away from other people in car parks etc (as I'm sure lots of us do!) The scratches have been touched in and I guess most people wouldn't notice them - although I certainly do. The thing that really pressed my buttons was the complete lack of empathy that my shiny new car had been scratched and then to have some goon telling me that they had already been touched in by someone else when that was quite impossible. I suspect that dealers have a tried and trusted denial process for things like this whether they believe it was their fault or not.
Still, whatever marque I get next I will stick with the advice of getting whoever is in charge of servicing to go over the bodywork beforehand so there can be no arguments. That said, I don't want someone to admit liability and touch them in - I just want them to take more care in the first place!
With regards to the scratches, they're sorted now - in a manner of speaking. I'm particular about the bodywork on cars I own, which is why I go to great lengths to keep them away from other people in car parks etc (as I'm sure lots of us do!) The scratches have been touched in and I guess most people wouldn't notice them - although I certainly do. The thing that really pressed my buttons was the complete lack of empathy that my shiny new car had been scratched and then to have some goon telling me that they had already been touched in by someone else when that was quite impossible. I suspect that dealers have a tried and trusted denial process for things like this whether they believe it was their fault or not.
Still, whatever marque I get next I will stick with the advice of getting whoever is in charge of servicing to go over the bodywork beforehand so there can be no arguments. That said, I don't want someone to admit liability and touch them in - I just want them to take more care in the first place!
strugglinauthor
Member
Stark said:
strugglinauthor
Member
Interesting visit to the BMW specialist today. Interesting...but not necessarily good. Seems there may be further issues. 
I'm not trying to be a killjoy about Z4s, really I'm not. They look great and sound great and I still chuckle with delight when I see it on the driveway
. There is a but coming...
With regards to the rattling in the engine, rather predictably it was silent and I have a feeling it will stay that way. The guy I saw said he could never say for certain what the problem was without being in on it from the start but he strongly suspects that whoever changed the oil didn't do it properly and when they had my car for a further day they were more than likely trying to rectify it. I suspect he's right.
I asked him to check the car over as I'd had the diff replaced and wanted to be sure all was well. His view was that there's something wrong with the replacement. He could hear a hissing sound on the test drive. To be fair I could barely hear it but he wasn't happy about it. Also, when he engaged 4th gear at low revs and lifted the clutch there was a bizarre grinding/mechanical noise that he said was coming from the diff. Terrific. I can't bear to take it back to the same place that fitted it so will have to try the next nearest main dealer. Here we go again.
Also there was a strange clunking/rattling coming from under the car that I didn't hear as the driver but I could hear it from outside as the guy went off for a test drive. Apparently it's the dual mass flywheel - whatever that is. His view? Not about to let me down but definitely something to raise with the dealer.
The really galling thing is that I got a good feeling from the indie and the chap who runs it. Over 20 years of experience in BMWs, a genuine enthusiast - but I can't use his services as all warranty work must be done by main dealers and I have a service pack - again main dealer only. Even knowing this he refused to charge for his time. I shall certainly put a post on the dealer recommendations forum. Someone may want to dig out an old post contradicting the recommendation, but all I'll say is I couldn't find a bad word about the company on the net and my experience couldn't have been better.
Now let's see if the BMW main dealer can match the customer service and finally, finally get my car into the shape it should be.
I'm not trying to be a killjoy about Z4s, really I'm not. They look great and sound great and I still chuckle with delight when I see it on the driveway
. There is a but coming...With regards to the rattling in the engine, rather predictably it was silent and I have a feeling it will stay that way. The guy I saw said he could never say for certain what the problem was without being in on it from the start but he strongly suspects that whoever changed the oil didn't do it properly and when they had my car for a further day they were more than likely trying to rectify it. I suspect he's right.
I asked him to check the car over as I'd had the diff replaced and wanted to be sure all was well. His view was that there's something wrong with the replacement. He could hear a hissing sound on the test drive. To be fair I could barely hear it but he wasn't happy about it. Also, when he engaged 4th gear at low revs and lifted the clutch there was a bizarre grinding/mechanical noise that he said was coming from the diff. Terrific. I can't bear to take it back to the same place that fitted it so will have to try the next nearest main dealer. Here we go again.
Also there was a strange clunking/rattling coming from under the car that I didn't hear as the driver but I could hear it from outside as the guy went off for a test drive. Apparently it's the dual mass flywheel - whatever that is. His view? Not about to let me down but definitely something to raise with the dealer.
The really galling thing is that I got a good feeling from the indie and the chap who runs it. Over 20 years of experience in BMWs, a genuine enthusiast - but I can't use his services as all warranty work must be done by main dealers and I have a service pack - again main dealer only. Even knowing this he refused to charge for his time. I shall certainly put a post on the dealer recommendations forum. Someone may want to dig out an old post contradicting the recommendation, but all I'll say is I couldn't find a bad word about the company on the net and my experience couldn't have been better.
Now let's see if the BMW main dealer can match the customer service and finally, finally get my car into the shape it should be.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Stark said:
+1
This is true - so long as the garage uses genuine products, then you can have it serviced wherever you like.
You'd be paying twice though as you have the service pack, which would be wasted, but for peace of mind and confidence, then it might be worth going back to this guy.
strugglinauthor
Member
Thanks for the replies guys.
To clarify - it wasn't Munich Legends I went to yesterday. I only used ML for an inspection as they were close to the place I bought the car from. I used a company called Performance Autotech, based in Telford. Thanks for the Tewksbury recommendation as well - I'll look them up.
With regards to the servicing you are correct in the fact that an EU directive made it illegal for car companies to force you to use main dealers in order to keep your warranty intact. This is providing that, quite rightly, the independent follows the correct servicing schedule. The issue I have is that the former owner purchased an optional 5 year service pack, where BMW effectively pay for routine servicing (other than major stuff like brakes). As such it makes sense from their point of view that I should use their dealer network. I could of course throw it in the bin and pay for servicing myself. It is tempting as Performance Autotech's rates are considerably lower than BMW's.
Who knows, this time I may find a dealer that changes my whole view. I hope so because the missus said something terrifying this morning: "your new car reminds me of that Alfa I had." :?
To clarify - it wasn't Munich Legends I went to yesterday. I only used ML for an inspection as they were close to the place I bought the car from. I used a company called Performance Autotech, based in Telford. Thanks for the Tewksbury recommendation as well - I'll look them up.
With regards to the servicing you are correct in the fact that an EU directive made it illegal for car companies to force you to use main dealers in order to keep your warranty intact. This is providing that, quite rightly, the independent follows the correct servicing schedule. The issue I have is that the former owner purchased an optional 5 year service pack, where BMW effectively pay for routine servicing (other than major stuff like brakes). As such it makes sense from their point of view that I should use their dealer network. I could of course throw it in the bin and pay for servicing myself. It is tempting as Performance Autotech's rates are considerably lower than BMW's.
Who knows, this time I may find a dealer that changes my whole view. I hope so because the missus said something terrifying this morning: "your new car reminds me of that Alfa I had." :?
strugglinauthor
Member
Stark said:
I see you bought your car privately, with low miles. Is it possible that your car has had issues from new and partially fixed and/or covered up at the time you bought.The previous owner knew it had issues and sold it on.I don't want to cast aspersions,but it isn't uncommon for owners to do this.
strugglinauthor
Member
It's a fair point but I'm 99% sure that's not the case - you can never be 100% sure. I know the guy I bought it from and he bought it as a low mileage AUC from a main dealer, with all the attendant checks that they (apparently) do. Also I had the car pre-inspected and HPI checked and the things they picked up, including the diff, were fixed under warranty. There was definitely no accident damage/body repairs as this is something I specifically asked the company performing the inspection to check for.